Fish-cleaning machine



Sept. 30, 1930. lv. BOTTKER ET -AL FISH CLEANING MACHINE Filed Aug. 15.' 1928 5 sheets-sheet 1 wllllii.

Q/ NNN INVENTORS Vayyo .Boff/fel' .gw By'janze Grande/7l MNH Sept. 30,. 1930. I V. BOTTKERT AI. 1,777,069

FISH CLEANING MACHINE Filed Aug. 15. 192s l s sheets-sheet 2 BY jann Gra dal/ I ATTORNEY V. BOTTKER ET AL FISH CLEANING MACHINE Filed Aug. 13. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INYENTORS:

.Mgyv af/ker BY jamc Granda/2l@ ATroRNEY Patented Sept. 30, 1930 UNITED STATES 1 Ariirir OFFICE vIGGo BOTTKER, or SEATTLE, wAsIiINeToN,` AND BJARNE GRONIJAHI., or WASHING- ToN BAY, TERRITORY on ALASKA FISH-CLEANING MACHINE i Application led August 13, 1928. Serial No. 299,222.

of one hand, and removing the shell fromthe tail by means of the thumb and a linger of her Y other hand. Y f

Because of their small size, the removal of shells from shrimp has proved laborious and expensive.

The obj ect of our invention, generally stated, is to overcome theseand other difficulties by the provision of `mechanism which will automatically accomplish the removal of portions of the shells of fish in a more efficient `and economical manner.

More specific objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following` description. 'Y

The invention consists `in! the novel conf struction, adaptation and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed. In the accompanying drawings* 4 Figure 1 is a side elevation of amachine embodying our invention;V Fig. 2 is a trag` mentary transverse vertical section taken substantially on broken line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a tiansversevertical section of portions of' one of the carrier members of the machine and portions of a pair of gripping fingers in their full open positions, and showing by dotted lines the relatively movable partsof th .vf carrier member and said gripping fingers in their closed positions, ashrimpv beingindi# cated by dotted lines in rtwo'positions,Fig. 4 is a side elevation of ajplurality of gripping fingers and agportion ofthe chainfto T' which they are connecteddrawn"- to a larger scale than shown in Fig. 1; Figg'is 'a plan view of'oiie of the carrier assemblies; Fig.' 6V is a horizontal sectionalA viewof Fig. 5, talze'nA on the line 6-,6 of Fig. 2, looking upward;

Figs. 7 and 8, respectively,l are plan views of the jaw-closing and opening cam-bars; Fig. 9 is a plan view' of the cam barsfor regulating the actionfof the'gripping lingers; Fig. `.10 is a plan view, shownsomewhat diagraininati-i cally, of the jaw-closing cam bars'V shown-in Fig. 7 .and series oi" jaws regulated thereby through the medium ofthe respective rollers;

Fig.v 11 is a detail vertical longitudinalsection to an enlarged scale of the device shown in Fig. 1 for strippingV the tails of shrimp, and portions of' gripping fingers being illustrated in engagedrelation with the shrimpQthe section of Fig. 11 being taken substantially on line 11-11 of F ig.v 12; and Fig. 12 is a hori- Zontal section on line 12-12 of Fig. 11.

In said drawings, the reference-numeral 5 represents', generally, the frame ofthe ma-l chine comprising twolaterally spacedf apart members 6. Journaled in bearings provided in said members are shafts 7 and 'S upon which are rigidly mounted sprocket wheels 9 and 10 for an endless sprocket chain 11 having betweenlt'he wheels upperand lower leads 111 and '112' disposed horizontally, or nearly so.

Said Achain isdriven inthe'direction indicated by the arr-ow A in Fig. 1 by means of a power driven belt 12 passing about av pulley 13V on the shaft 7.

' Securedto orforined integral with links of said chain are lish carriers 14 carrying devices't'orl regulating'the'positions of the fish suitable to beoperateduponby the tail strip` pers to bepresently described. Each of said carriers-is provided centrally of its widthV with' a Alongitudinally disposed vertical web element '15 providedatits upper and lower edges with side flanges 16 and`17,'respectively, the lower of said flanges bearingupon supporting elementslSand l19 of the framemem- 2O repieseiitguide bars secured tothe upper supportslS vand provided with ways'21 (Fig. 2) toprevent uplifting'of the carriers when travelling with the upper lead of the chain.` i l Theupper of said flanges l16 are provided' with transversely arranged'slots 22 serving as guide ways for the Shanks 23 0f two groups ofbloclzs24' mountediiponthe upper surfaces of therespective flanges.

Securedrtolthe under side` of each 'of the Y b locli sharks-"23 is a transversely arranged 25 havingdepending from near its outer4 end a' stud 26 Awhich serves as an axlefor a roller 27, one for each of the blocks 24. Se-

cured to the frame, in the path of the rollers when travelling with the upper lead of said chain, is a pair of transversely spaced guide bars 28 having relatively opposed inner surfaces which as at 281 converge, see Figs. 7 and l0, from their forward ends rearwardly to parallel surfaces 282. Such surface arrangement of the guide bars 28 act against the rollers to cause the respective blocks of the groups thereof at opposite sides of the medial vertical plane of the machine to, first, be progressively moved toward each other, as illustrated at the left hand side of F ig. l0, and thence be held in parallel, as at the right hand side of the view.

When the carriers are in their inverted positions during their return travel in the lower lead of the chain, guide bars 29, Figs. 2 and 8, provided on the frame and having relatively diverging surfaces 291 which are utilized to engage the rollers to effect the spreading apart of the respective complementary blocks.

Each of the blocks 24 is provided at its inner end with a movable aw element 30 having a stem 31 (Fig. extending through the respective block and yieldingly held in spaced relation therefrom by means of a spring 82 extending into a chamber of the block; the movement of a jaw from its block being regulated by a pin 33 provided in the stem acting as a stop with regard to the block.

The jaws 30 bear upon theupper surface of the flanges 16, and are characterized by having their inner ends-that is, the ends toward the longitudinal axis of the machineformed each, as shown in Fig. 3, of an angular shape to provide at its midheight a protruding nose 34 with sloping faces 35 and 86 above and below the nose.

The elevation of a nose 34 above the plane of the top surface of the fianges 16 of a carrier is, moreover, less than one-half of the maximum breadth of a shrimp which is designed to be operated upon in the machine.

A chute, represented by 37 in Fig. 1, is em ployed to feed shrimp successively upon the carriers 14 of the upper lead 111 and between the jaws of the blocks 24 prior tothe rollers associated therewith reaching the controlling bars 28 which act to move the blocks into operative relation with the shrimp.

A shrimp deposited upon a carrier between the opposing jaws thereof is engaged by the jaws as they are brought toward each other by means of the rollers 27 when infiuenced by the bar surfaces 281, see Fig. 10, in the progress of the respective carriers 14 with the upper chain lead 111. The two series of opposing aws approaching each other from the opposite sides of the carrier, present the lower faces 38 to the narrow tail portion of the shrimp thereon and the upper jaw faces to the wider head end or body portion of the shrimp.

Under such a condition, further movement of both series of jaws, cause the tail of the shrimp to be engaged beneath the noses ofthe jaws at one or the other side of the carrier and the thicker body portion to be directed upwardly upon the sloping faces 35 of the other series of jaws. A further travel of the carrier brings the rollers thereof into the contra-:ted space between the parallel surfaces 282 of the bars 28 resulting in the shrimps tail being seized by the noses of both series of jaws and its body portion elevated.

The function described above of the aws will be understood from an inspection of Fig. 3, wherein a shrimp in a recumbent position on a carrier is indicated by dotted lines S1 and in its body elevated position by dotted lines S2.

The main purpose of the carrier devices is that described above-which is, to elevate the body of shrimp into position to be en gaged by body grasping means of a conveying system which will now be explained.

uch conveying system comprises an endless chain 40 passing about sprocket wheels 41 and 42 having shafts 43 and 44 journaled in the upper portion of the machine frame to provide horizontal leads 401 and 40"'. As shown, the conveyor is driven by means of chains and sprocket wheels indicated diagrammatically by dot-anddash lines in Fig. l, wherein 45 is a sprocket wheel on the shaft 8 for a chain 46 which passes about a sprocket wheel 47 on an intermediate shaft 48, and from a sprocket wheel, as 47 is driven a s xeond chain 49 which passes about an idler 50 and engages a sprocket wheel 51 on the conveyor driving shaft 44.

Attached to links of the conveyor chain are groups of fingers 52 which in the lower lead 402 of the chain depend therefrom so that the free ends of the fingers travel in close proximity to the tops of the block and jaw devices of the carriers when in the upper lead. The fingers 52 are of spring metal arranged as shown in Fig. 2, that is to say, in comple mentary groups at each side of a. vertical longitudinal plane disposed at the midwidth of the machine.

As shown in Fig. 2, the fingers 52 are secured to opposite sides of ribs elements such as 531 of supporting plates 53 which travel in ways 54 provided in guide elements 55 of the frame structure. Said fingers are normally distended transversely of the machine so that space between the opposing fingers will be afforded for the shrimp bodies when in'an elevated position, as hereinbefore explained.

The fingers are, however, brought into engaging relation with the body of a shrimp iu the further travel of the same with the lead 402 by means of controlling bars 56 having relatively converging surfaces 561 (Fig. 9) which cause the fingers to be brought into lLSU engaging relation with a shrimp body as indicated by `dotted line 521 position of a pair of fingers with respect to a shrimp which is denoted by S2. f

When the fingers reach the end ofthe inclined surfaces 561 they are held in engaged relation with the shrimp by the parallel surfaces 562 of said bars. 1 The speed of the conveyor chain for the fingers corresponds with the speed of the carriers, so that a shrimp will be carried by both until it rea-ches the end of' its horizontal travel with the upper lead ofthe chain l1.`

Means Vfor stripping the shell from the tails of shrimp is shown in Figs. l, l1, and 1Q, comprising a rotary member mounted upon a shaft 6l which is driven by means of an endless chain 62 passing about sprocket wheels upon the shafts 8 and 6l, respectively.

Said member 60 consists of two rubber disks 63 secured in side by side relation upon a hub 64e which is'rigid with the shaft v6l and disposed, as shown in Figs. l and ll, to have its periphery revolve within close proximity tothe lower ends of the fingers 52.

The disks 63 are regulated by means of a separator 65 having a wedge shaped portion 66 extending int-o the interstice between the disks at one side of the latter to spread the same apart. to receive the tail of a shrimp between the disks. j

At the diametrically opposite side of the disks from said separator is a pair of c`ompanion plates 67 which cooperate with the resiliency of the disks to cause the disks to be brought into clampingl Vrelation with the tail of the shrimp. v

The operation of the devices above described for grasping the tailof a shrimpvfor removing the shell therefrom will be understood from Fig. 11, wherein S3 represents a sirimp held in a travelling group of fingers V2 with its tail inserted between the disks, and S4 represents the body of the shrimp in its further travel after the shell of the tail, which is indicated by T, has been removed from the body. i

After being relieved of its tail shell the body is carried .by the ngers 52 until the same have passed beyond the bars 56 whereupon the resiliency of the lingers canse them to open to permit the body to be discharged upon a belt or conveyor 68 to be carried from the machine to be further acted upon. 69 represents a pulley for the belt 68. A

The construction and opera-tion of the invention will, it is thought be understood from the 'foregoing description.

1What we claim, is,- Y i l. ln a fish-cleaning machine, the combination with the machine frame, 4two endless chains arranged. longitudinallyof the frame one above the other, sprocket wheels for said chains, and means for rotating said wheels :,r.; to drive the respective chains, of 'carriers car'-V sh into position to be engaged by said fingers.

'2. In a fishcleaning machine, the combina- Y tion with the machine frame, of fish tiltingv and tail engaging devices, sh body gripping devices disposed above the first named devices, means for effecting the travel of both of said devices Vlongitudinally ofthe frame, and means actuated by the travel of there spective devices to operate the same successively.

3. ln fishecleaning machine, a plurality of fish carriers arranged for movement longitudinally et the machine, means to edect said movement of the carriers, opposing aw devices mounted upon the respective carriers vfor relative closing and 4opening movement.

transversely of the machine, means to feed fish upon the carriers successively andbetween the jaws associated therewith when the latter are in their relatively open positions, said jaws being adapted in their closmovement toward each other to effect the elevation of the bodies of lish from the respective carriers, finger devices travelling longitudinally of the machine for gripping the elevated body portions of the fish, and revoluble means adapted for gri ping the tail portions of fish depending rom said lingers and cooperating with the latter for stripping the shell from the tail portions of the respective fishes.A Y

` il. In a fish-cleaning machine, the combination with the machine frame, of a carrier arrangedV therein for longitudinal movement, tish tilting and tail gripping jaws mounted upon the carrier 'forlateral movement, and means rendered operable bythe travel of the carrier for actuating the jaws to successively tilt and grip the fish. i

, v5. ln a lieb-cleaning machine, the .combination with the machine frame, iish carrier-s thereon, means to impart movement to said carriers longitudinally of the machine, and means to deposit fish upon the successive carriers, of seriesof opposing jaws providedV upon therespective carriers and ,arranged for reciprocatory movement.transversely of the machine, devices actuated by thetravel of said carriers Yfor effecting theV reciprocatory movement of said jaws, each of said jaws having a protuberance intermediate its height and diverging surfaces above andbelowthe same. l. Y K

6. ln a lish-cleaning machine asgdefined in 5 wherein springs are included the devices which transmit reciprocatory Inovement to the jaws.

7. In a fish-cleanino` machine, the combination with the machine frame and a carrier provided thereon for movement longitudinally of the frame, o'f blocks slidable upon the carrier transversely of the frame, spring pressed sh-tilting jaws carried by the respective blocks, guide bars provided on said frame, and means connected to said blocks and rendered operable by said guide bars in the travel of the carrier for moving the jaws successively into and from their fish tilting relation.

8. In a fish cleaning machine, the combination with the machine frame and a carrier provided thereon for movement longitudinally of the frame, of blocks slidable upon the carrier 'transversely of the frame, fish-tilting jaws carried by the respective blocks, guide bars provided on said frame, and means connected to said blocks and rendered operable by said guide bars in the travel ofl the carrier for moving the jaws successively .into and from their fish tilting relation.

9. In a fish-cleaning machine, the combination with the machine frame and a carrier provided thereon for movement longitudinally of the frame, of blocks slidable upon the carrier transversely of the trame, spring pressed fish-tiltin jaws car ied by the respective blocks, guide bars provided on said trame, and means rendered operable by said guide bars in the travel of the carrier for moving the aws successively into and from their fish tilting relation.

10. In a fish-cleaning machine, the combination with the machine frame and a carrier provided thereon for movement longitudinally of the frame, of fish tilting devices carried by said carrier, said devices being arranged for movement transversely of the machine, means rendered operable by the travel of said carrier for moving the devices into fish-tilting position.

11. In a fish-cleaning machine, the combination with the machine frame and a carrier provided thereon for movement longitudinally of the frame, of blocks slidable upon the carrier transversely of the frame, spring pressed fish-tilting jaws carried by the respective blocks, guide bars provided on said frame, and means rendered operable by said guide bars in the travel of the carrier for moving the jaws into their fish tilting relation.

l2. In a fish-cleaning` machine, the combination with the machine frame, means for gripping the body portion of a fish to have the tail portion in depending relationship therete, and means for eecting the travel of said gripping means longitudinally of. the frame, of a rotary tail gripping device comprising a pair of resilient disks disposed in side by side relation, means to rotate said disks, means acting between the disks to spread apart the same at one side of their axis of rotation to provide tail receiving opening thereat, and means provided in spaced relation circumferentially of the disks to force the same into engageable relation with the fish.

13. In a fish cleaning machine, the combination with the machine frame, ish tilting devices, fish body gripping devices, and means for effecting the travel of both of said devices longitudinally of the frame, 'of revoluable means adapted for gripping the tail portions of fish depending from said body gripping devices and cooperating therewith for stripping the shell from the tail portions of the fish.

la. In a ish cleaning machine, in combination with the machine frame, of' fish tilting devices, fish body gripping devices, and means for ei'lecting the travel of both of said devices to operate the same.

l5. In a fish cleaning machine, means for gripping the body portion of' a fish to have the tail portion in depending relationship thereto, and revoluble means adapted for gripping from body Tripping means and cooperable therewith for stripping the shell from the tail portion of the fish.

VIGGO BOTTKER. BJARNE GRONDAI-IL. 

